Influence of career choice on the academic performance of library and information science undergraduates in a Nigerian University of Education

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of career choice on the academic performance of library and information science students at the Tai Solarin University of Education Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode with objectives of finding out the influence of career choice on the academic performance of library and information science undergraduates, to identify various career choice of students before gaining admission into Nigerian university of education and to investigate factors influencing the choice of library and information science course by undergraduates of a Nigerian university of education. A quantitative methodology and descriptive survey design was adopted for the study while the population of the study is 908 students from the department of LIS TASUED from 200L-400L, 252 students from LIS TASUED were randomly selected as the sample size; questionnaires were distributed and duly returned. Findings showed that 38(16.9%) chose business education as their most preferred course of study while 134(59.6%) indicated that their parents/relatives influence their decision; that career choice influences the academic performance of undergraduate students. The study concluded that the majority of the students are on average performance in terms of academics. The study, therefore, recommended that students should choose careers according to their capabilities among others.